MLB coverage in the UK for 2014 season

With Opening Day looming, if you want to get yourselves set for the brand new season, Charlie Baldwin brings you all the different ways you will be able to watch Major League Baseball in the United Kingdom for the 2014 season.

The opening series is on ESPN HD/ESPN this weekend. Game 1: Saturday live from 8am UK time. Game 2: Saturday night/Sunday morning live at 2:00am, also on ESPN HD/ESPN.

MLB TV

Major League Baseball’s online subscription service has been broadcasting Baseball to the masses via the internet for over a decade now.

It comes in two different packages in 2014.

MLB.TV will cost $109.99, whilst MLB.TV Premium will be available for $129.99 (around £66 or £78 respectively at the time of writing – please be aware some UK banks may charge extra for conversion of pound sterling into US dollars).

Both will show you selected spring training games as well as every regular season and postseason game in high definition and on demand.  This is well over 2,800 games including the All-Star game and postseason games.

One key difference between the two packages is that MLB.TV Premium also allows you to watch games through many different devices such as smartphones and tablets, meaning you can watch MLB on the go – you can compare both packages by clicking here.

As somebody who has subscribed to MLB.TV Premium for a number of years I would highly recommend it.  As a guide you will need a two megabyte connection to get a good quality stream.  The ability to watch games in high definition as well as on demand with the ability to fast-forward and rewind through games as you please makes this a must have for any Baseball aficionado.

BT Sport

BT Sport have confirmed via Twitter that live MLB games will be returning to the UK ESPN channel on March 17th.  They also clarified that they would be showing a similar amount of games to the 2013 season.  This means a subscriber can expect to see at least 10 games per week meaning over 300 live games will be shown through the season as well as the playoffs.

ESPN Baseball Tonight will also return to ESPN on a daily basis on March 18th giving Baseball fans the latest opinions, news and views from an expert panel of former Baseball players as well as experienced national analysts and journalists.

If you already have a package that includes BT Sport ands ESPN, then you’ll be set and ready to go, if not look at the grid below to find out how you can view the action.

	BT TV + BT Infinity	BT TV + BT Broadband	Sky Digital Satellite Platform
	Via TV and App and Online	Via App and Online only	Via App and Online only
Notes	New BT TV + Infinity customers will receive the YouView set top box as part of their BT TV package.	BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN are available via App and Online	You can get all the BT Sport channels on the Sky Digital Satellite Platform for FREE with BT Broadband. Otherwise, Sky customers without broadband must pay £12 a month plus a one-off £15 activation fee.
BT Sport app and online player is FREE with all BT Infinity and BT Broadband packages – Virgin Media Customers can also receive the channels, to find out how click here

MLB on UK Radio

For the past few years, MLB games have been heard on BBC Radio Five Live Sports Extra.  In 2013, a game was broadcast every Thursday evening (usually starting at just after 5:00pm).  Games could also be heard on some Sundays (normally beginning just after 6:00pm).  The analyst team consisted of legendary former Channel 5 analyst Josh Chetwynd and broadcaster Nat Coombs.

Chetwynd took to Facebook at the end of February in an attempt to inform UK MLB fans of the situation. He went on to give the following update (28th February 2014):

“I’ve received a lot of questions about coverage plans for the 2014 season and I thought it was only right to fill you in on what I know. First the good news: There are plans to cover the World Series live and on site this year. Alas, there are no plans for 5 Live to broadcast regular season games this season. I know 5 Live and USP content are discussing ways to provide some coverage during the regular season and as soon as I have more information on what that might be, I’ll share it with you. Regardless, I do hope this page will continue to be a hub for British baseball fans (and for those from the other side of the pond who want to interact with British fans). I’ve been covering baseball on TV and radio for the UK audience since 2002 and I probably can’t fully express to each and everyone of you how grateful I am for your support and interest over the years. Cheers, JC”

Alternatives

MLB Gameday Audio allows you to listen to MLB games via home/road team radio feeds over the internet costing $19.99 (price around £12 at the time of writing – again, please be aware some UK banks may charge extra for conversion of pound sterling into US dollars).

MLB.com in 2013 offered fans the chance to watch a free game every day of the season as well as “live look in’s” to other games on that same day.

Hopefully through all the different ways highlighted above everybody will have a way to watch their favourite team throughout the coming season.